Bowhunting.com Blog

Turkey Season Is Here

Posted by: Davie Ferraro on Mar 19, 2013

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Spring is in the air, leaves are turning green, and gobbles are echoing through the woods. It’s that time of year again, turkey hunters are getting geared up and more than likely driving their loved ones crazy practicing all their turkey calling skills. But there is so much more to preparing for opening morning than simply knocking the dust off of your favorite call.

As opening morning approaches, I visualize what I will do by playing out several different scenarios in my head. I have been on hunts ranging from where I never even had to call and the hunt was done in five minutes, to hunts where I have spent hours on end waiting for that gobbler to commit and come in range. My philosophy is to always prepare for the worst, because you never know what you will have to do to accomplish success. Here are some of my best tips to help you to find success in the turkey woods this spring…

Be Organized Before each hunt, make sure all your gear is in order and organized to your liking. This also includes having all your slate calls sanded, box calls chalked, & mouth diaphragms ready to go based on your preference. Test your organizational skills: with your eyes closed, can you grab any call at any time without rustling through your turkey pack? We all know how critical it is to be as still as possible and minimize as much movement because remember, turkeys eat bugs we can’t even see.

Whenever hunting without the aid of a blind, make sure that you blend in well with your background and choose your movements wisely. Turkeys have exceptional eye-sight.

Get Your Birds In A RowHave all your decoys ready to be set in the ground. You don’t want to make a lot of noise, forcing turkeys off their roost nearby. Make sure your decoys are facing you so the approaching gobbler comes around the front of your decoys to show his dominance. If you are bow hunting, this is critical, because it allows you to get to full draw without being seen by the gobbler. Also, use your decoys as a yardage marker, and if possible during scouting, put something natural like a stick at each of your yardage markers.

The less noise you make the better your odds of tagging a bird. Preparation will greatly aid in reducing unwanted noise from fumbling in the dark searching for calls, decoys, etc. The author (pictured here) has proven this technique works time and time again.

Know Your BowIf you are bow hunting, be confident in your shooting capabilities. The vitals on a turkey are much smaller than other big game animals we hunt, so precision and pin usage must be accurate. Aim small, miss small. There are certain locations on a turkey to aim at based on the gobblers’ positioning. Practice by shooting at a small circle on your targets. There’s no doubt getting the bird in range is most of the time the hardest part, but making sure you are on point with your shooting is what seals the deal.

Spend plenty of time shooting and becoming familiar with the equipment you will be using. In some cases, different broadhead and arrow options are used for turkey hunting. Make sure you know how your rig will perform before heading afield chasing long-beards.